Rose's Strategy of Preventive Medicine

by Geoffrey Rose, Kay-Tee Khaw (Introduction), Michael Marmot (Introduction)

Overview

The Strategy of Preventive Medicine, by Geoffrey Rose, first published in 1993 remains a key text for anyone involved in preventive medicine. Rose's insights into the inextricable relationship between ill health, or deviance, in individuals and populations they come from, have transformed our whole approach to strategies for improving health. His personal and unique book, based on many years research, sets out the case that the essential determinants of the health of society are to be found in its mass characteristics. The deviant minority can only be understood when seen in its societal context, and effective prevention requires changes which involve the population as a whole. He explores the options for prevention, considering them from various viewpoints - theoretical and scientific, sociological and poitical, practical and ethical. The applications of his ideas are illustrated by a variety of examples ranging from heart disease to alcoholism to road accidents. His pioneering work focused on a population wide approach to the prevention of common medical and behavioural disorders has become the classic text on the subject. This reissue brings the original text to a new generation involved in preventive medicine. Kay-Tee Khaw and Michael Marmot retain the original text intact, but have added their own perspective on the work. They examine what relevance Rose's ideas might have in the era of the human genome project and other major scientific advances, they consider examples of how the theory might be applied and generalised in medicine and beyond, and discuss what implications it holds for the future. There is also an explanation of the population perspective, clarifying the often confused thinking and arguments about determinants of individual cases and determinants of population incidence. Rose's Strategy of Preventive Medicine will ensure that this seminal work continues to be read by future generations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780191015595
Publisher:	OUP Oxford
Publication date:	01/10/2008
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Professor Kay-Tee Khaw trained in medicine at Girton College, Cambridge and then at St. Mary's Hospital London where she had the transforming experience of being taught clinical medicine and epidemiology by Geoffrey Rose. She was one of the students on the first year of the Masters in Epidemiology course that Geoffrey Rose started in the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and his ideas have continued to inspire her through many international clinical and academic posts. She is a principal investigator in EPIC, a prospective population study on diet, cancer, and chronic disease, which involves 500,000 participants from ten European Countries which aims to identify nutritional, hormonal and other factors which determine good health. She also co-ordinates an annual World Heart Federation/World Health Organisation International Teaching Seminar, originated by Geoffrey Rose.

Table of Contents

Introduction, Kay-Tee Khaw and Michael Marmot1. The objectives of preventive medicine, Geoffrey Rose2. What needs to be prevented?, Geoffrey Rose3. The relation of risk to exposure, Geoffrey Rose4. Prevention for individuals and the 'high-risk' strategy, Geoffrey Rose5. Individuals and populations, Geoffrey Rose6. Some implications of population change, Geoffrey Rose7. The population strategy of prevention, Geoffrey Rose8. In search of health, Geoffrey Rose

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: James C. Torner, PhD, MS (University of Iowa College of Public Health)
Description: Geoffrey Rose laid out his strategy of prevention through assessment and modification of populations in the original edition of this book in 1992. This reprint keeps the original version intact and includes a commentary putting Professor Rose's philosophy into context.
Purpose: The purpose is to acquaint readers with Professor Rose's view of population health and to demonstrate its utility in the practice of public health. The book continues the Rose theme of population health, which is an important concept for public health practitioners to consider.
Audience: Students, educators, and practitioners will understand the premise and the examples. The book is useful for thought and action for those who embrace these concepts. The authors of the current version are distinguished scholars and well acquainted with the Rose ideas.
Features: The book presents concepts of population health and puts them into societal context and demonstrates them through examples of types of research studies and populations. It discusses extensively the strengths and limitations of a population view of health rather than an individual and high-risk group strategy of health, using examples to demonstrate these aspects. The book presents Professor Rose's philosophy, leaving the reader to decide.
Assessment: This is a necessary read for public health practitioners and those designing population interventions. It is a unique presentation of the concept of population-based intervention, which is not described as extensively as in Rose's book. The commentary refreshes the ideas and demonstrates the continued utility of them. It is important to keep this discussion available for new students, practitioners, and scholars.

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